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Removal of Cuban Blockage: Envoy Appeals to Nigeria, Others to Pile Pressure on US
Removal of Cuban Blockage: Envoy Appeals to Nigeria, Others to Pile Pressure on US
By: Michael Mike
Cuba has called on Nigeria and other countries of the world to pile pressure on the United States of America(US) to end the 64-year-old blockade and economic sanctions on her.
The Ambassador of Cuba to Nigeria, Miriam Morales Palmero made the call during a press conference in Abuja, ahead of the vote against the US blockade scheduled to take place at the United Nations General Assembly on October 29, 2024.
The envoy who applauded Nigeria for always standing by Cuba, said the country’s friendship and alliance is needed at the time more than ever, noting that with the support of Nigeria and other African countries, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Middle East, her country will be free from the blockade.
While decrying the injustice of the prolonged blockade policy put in place in 1960 by the US on Cuba, Palmero said it has made negative impacts in various sectors of the Cuban political, social and economic life, calling for immediate lifting of the blockade against her country.
She noted that the US government started the blockade on March 14, 1958, when it banned weapons sale to Cuba via an arms embargo and later extended to a bigger ban on all exports to Cuba, food and medicine excluded.
She swid: “In 1962, during the Cuban Missile Crisis between the US and the Soviet Union, Cuba held nuclear weapons on behalf of the Soviet Union leading to a full- scale blockade on the Cuban island. The actions of the US have led to the UN having annual resolutions to dispel the blockage since 1992, this year’s resolution being on the 29th of October.”
The Ambassador covered various economic and social effects of the blockade on Cuba which include that the blockage prevents the US from trading with Cuba, greatly limiting Cuba’s access to goods, services and technology such as food, medical aid and the country’s ability to generate revenue.
She said: “With many countries being allies with the US, fearing the repercussions that might come with trading with Cuba, foreign investments and trades with Cuba are severely limited.
“Although Cuba has a wonderful health care system, this blockage limits the country’s access to medicine leading to the inability to properly care for its citizens in times of health crises,” she said.
Palmero said that Cuba has lost billions of dollars in various sectors due to the blockade, adding that regional responses from Latin America countries, the Caribbean community and the European Union have been expressly on the side of Cuba, all calling for the end of the embargo.
She noted that her country has survived these years of blockade because of the courage and resilience of its people and the determination of successive leaders of the country from Fidel Castro to Raul Castro and to the current President Miguel Diaz- Canel.
She said “Countries like China and Russia still show their willingness to invest in Cuba even though they receive backlash from the US. Many other countries have proclaimed a strong diplomatic relationship with Cuba, Nigeria included and the number of these countries is over 180.
“Moreover, various international NGOs have protested against the blockage stating that it has negative humanitarian impacts.”
She pointed out that Cuba is making spirited efforts to counteract the effects of the blockade while it struggles to form strong alliances globally, adding that it still sought to establish diplomatic relationships with China, Russia, Nigeria and other European countries.
She said “the government has focused on exporting medical supplies, biotechnology etc to these various countries.
“To fight against the food shortages caused by the blockage, Cuba has focused on organic farming and sustainable practices to ensure maximum efficiency and food security leasing to the country not having to depend entirely on other countries and organizations for food.
“Furthermore, Cuba actively promotes its culture with the help of globalization through: music, arts and even food leading to a strong cultural exchange enhancing its global image.”
She noted that Cuba has always been willing to negotiate with the US on how to end the blockade but insisted that her country will not allow any form of dictation from the US.
Removal of Cuban Blockage: Envoy Appeals to Nigeria, Others to Pile Pressure on US
UMTH: Orchard, for the Benefits of Patients’ Healing
By: Balami Lazarus
Hospitals are considered universally to be the most serene environment where patients are expected to have the best healthcare services and attention and also to be provided with quality medical treatment and care through their doctors and caregivers, aided by other health workers, to enable the sick ones to recuperate, feel better, and get well. How can our hospitals achieve this?
However, this can be achieved not only by discharging their primary objectives through the provision of medical treatments but also in some other related friendly environmental health windows.
When the NEWSng team took a post-flood visit to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) recently to assess some projects like the one and only Interventional Radiology Centre (IRC) in Nigeria and the Stroke Centre (SC), among other few ongoing projects that are not peculiar to most hospitals in Nigeria.
Farms are of different types, but the one in question herein is an orchard, a special kind of farm. Orchards have never been part of the hospital environment, while gardens and parks are a common sight in our hospitals. Therefore, UMTH, under the able good leadership of Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo, decided to make yet another landmark by establishing a large orchard within the hospital premises in Maiduguri.
Why an orchard in UMTH? Speaking to the CMD, Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo on the Orchard project, he happily said, “The Orchard is meant to provide a conducive environmental atmosphere/space for patients, their relatives, visitors, staff, and students to have contact with and the feel of the natural environment provided by the Orchard.” He further emphasized by saying that “patients will have a natural environment for them to relax, which will help in their healing processes.” He informed NEWSng that it is also meant to provide sources of fresh fruits for the patients and members of the hospital community at affordable prices. “The Orchard is not only established to provide leisure/relaxation, but its products—fruits—are going to be sold to assist in maintaining the facilities of the orchard.”
In the course of our reports, NEWSng spoke to Mr. Abubakar Sadiq Dawule, officer in charge of the orchard, who took us round. The Orchard is 1.75 hectares of land totaling 26 plots that are 25 meters in size. Abubakar Dawule said that each plot is planted with a single variety of economic tree that bears quality fruits. All the plots are planted with single different varieties of economic trees like cashew, custard apple tree , mango , orange, banana, guava, mango apple, pawpaw, date trees, tangerine, berries of different kinds, watermelon, and other varieties of economic trees/plants.”
Sadiq further informed NEWSng that the aims of the orchard are “to create a green area of plantation that will provide economic trees for the production of fruits.” He also said that is to help reduce global warming and provide protection for the hospital’s environmental beauty. “To have natural environment space for nutritional benefits of patients to improve their healing.
UMTH Orchard has standard functional facilities like a water fountain, a set of concrete backrest seats in each plot, and an office block consisting of shops, stores, and restrooms. The orchard is beautifully designed with paved walkways to each plot and free flow of water to all the plots. It is fenced with one main entrance. These efforts are carried out by an 18-man workforce, including security operatives, to secure the orchard.
Interestingly, the UMTH Orchard was sponsored by a well-meaning Nigerian Hon. Abdulmalik Zubairu Bungudu (Zanna Bungudu), a member of the National Assembly—House of Representatives representing the Bungudu/Maru Federal constituency of Zamfara State, with the sum of 20 million Naira.
Challenges faced by the Orchard, according to Abubakar Sadiq Dawule, are the need for additional borehole walkways and lights and more fertilizer/manure.
Garden scissors, an axe, a cutlass, and watering cans, among other handy tools, “are necessary for the maintenance of the orchard.”
UMTH: Orchard, for the Benefits of Patients’ Healing
Five Children Injured in IED Explosion in Mafa LGA, Borno State
By: Zagazola Makama
An Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion in Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State on May 8, 2025, left five children injured, one of whom lost a hand.
Zagazola Makama understands that the explosion occurred around 1425hrs when the children unknowingly tampered with IED devices, hidden in block holes near a culvert on the access road to the ongoing construction site at the New Mafa Central Mosque.
The victims, four males and one female, were identified as Abdullahi Umar, Musa Mele, Fatima Abatcha, Abba Kawu Muhammed, and Khalid Alhaji Bukar, all of Mafa town. The blast caused varying degrees of injuries, with one of the boys losing his hand.
Following the incident, a combined team from the Explosive Ordinance Disposal-Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (EOD-CBRN) Unit, police from Mafa Division, and the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) responded. The scene was cordoned off, and secondary devices were searched for, with pieces of can tins used as improvised containers for the IED found and professionally detonated.
Four of the victims were referred to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) for treatment, while one victim with minor injuries was treated and discharged at Mafa General Hospital.
In response to the attack, the EOD-CBRN team conducted Explosive Ordinance Risk Education (EORE) for children and community members in Mafa.
Five Children Injured in IED Explosion in Mafa LGA, Borno State
FCT Police arrest two notorious armed robbers in Kurudu
By: Zagazola Makama
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has arrested two notorious armed robbery suspects terrorising Kurudu and its environs.
The suspects, identified as Hassan Adamu and Auwal Mohammed, both aged 25, were arrested on May 8 at about 2:00 p.m. during a targeted raid by operatives of the Scorpion Squad.
Police sources said that the suspects were linked to multiple violent robbery incidents in the area.
“One of the suspects confessed to a specific robbery at Angwan Hausawa, Kurudu, where a male victim, identified as Mohammed, was stabbed and later died from the injuries sustained during the attack.
Acting on credible intelligence, police operatives stormed a criminal hideout in Kurudu where the suspects were apprehended. A sharp dagger, reportedly intended for use against police operatives, was recovered during the search.
The suspects also revealed the identities of other members of their gang who remain at large and are believed to be armed.
The police sources said a manhunt is ongoing to apprehend the fleeing suspects and recover additional weapons.
FCT Police arrest two notorious armed robbers in Kurudu
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